Many shelters in the metro have special weather amnesty policies that allow more people to spend the night at their facilities when it gets bitterly cold. With the coldest blast of the winter coming on Monday, local shelters are gearing up.

“I slept underneath bridges, garbage cans,” said Billy, who is homeless and has spent countless nights sleeping in winter weather. He is now at the Hope Ministries Bethel Mission Facility.

“It’s always, ya know, good to have places like this,” he said.

A warm bed and a hot meal are things many take for granted, especially during the bitter winter months.

“Our goal each day is to get as many people off the street that want to come in,” said Tony Timm, executive director for Central Iowa Shelter.

Central Iowa Shelter, Hope Ministries Facilities and other metro shelters are expecting to house dozens more people than usual due to the frigid weather. They said they will not have to turn anyone away.

“Yeah, we’re going to accommodate everybody coming through the door just to keep them safe,” Timm said.

Central Iowa Shelter has been filling their 209-bed facility every night since they opened last September. The rest of their guests spend the night in chairs.

“We’ve had somewhere between 20 and 30 people a night in chairs,” Timm said. “Now, with the more recent cold snap, we’re approaching 50 people and that could even go a little higher.”

At Hope Ministries’ facilities, organizers also have a plan if they run out of beds.

“We’re ready for the folks that are coming and if we’re full, we end up being at capacity, we have plenty of bed rolls and quilts,” said David Burrier, chief development officer at Hope Ministries.

Hope Ministries has an outreach program called Hope on the Streets, where they pass out thousands of small cards with their information and hand warmers, granola bars, hats and mittens. The program encourages anyone in need to use its facilities to get out of the cold.

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